Retail establishments are under constraints to reduce costs while increasing sales. Suppliers to retail establishments are encountering similar constraints and demands, with retailers limiting display space to those products which achieve maximum sales potential. The manner in which a product is displayed, and thereby perceived by a consumer, frequently has a strong impact on sales of a packaged product. In addition, particularly with relatively small items, it is preferred that the package construction, size, or the like provide theft resistance.
A ceiling fan typically has a relatively short chain connected to a speed switch, with the switch being adjusted to set the speed of rotation of the fan blades to that which is desired. The short chain may not be reachable by the user, or same may be considered unattractive. Many consumers attach an extension chain to the short chain which comes with the fan, and the extension chain typically has a decorative knob or like ornament at its end. The knob and the chain may be colored or otherwise decorated in order to match the decor of the ceiling fan, the room in which the ceiling fan is positioned, or some other aesthetically pleasing attribute.
Ceiling fan extension pull chains have in the past been displayed to consumers on bubble cards. The typical bubble card has a cardboard base to which a transparent bubble is secured. The extension chain and its knob are positioned within the bubble, and the card may be hung from a hook. In that configuration, however, the chain and knob are not presented to the consumer in an orientation corresponding to the orientation same would achieve when connected to the chain of a ceiling fan. The bubble package does not permit the consumer to easily recognize the coloring of the chain, or the ornamentation on the knob. The consumer must imagine how the chain and knob will appear with this sort of package, with the result that sales potential is potentially diminished.
Attempts have been made to increase consumer perception of the extension chain by display of the chain and its knob in a transparent carton having a cardboard insert. These carton-type packages, however, do not display the extension chain and its knob in an orientation and configuration as would be achieved hanging from a ceiling fan. Additionally, portions of the chain remain loose in the package, and thus detract from an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Moreover, the carton-type package is relatively expensive to manufacture, and is relatively complicated to assemble.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/716,903, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,886 discloses a display package for pull chains and the like wherein the package is a clam shell package in which an insert is positioned for holding the chain of a pull chain, so that the knob is suspended in a chamber to more realistically portray the appearance as the same would occur with affixed to a ceiling fan. According to this application, the insert has a capture region for engaging an article, so that a portion of the article is disposed within a chamber for display. However, assembling such packages is labor intensive.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there is a need for a relatively inexpensive, easy to manufacture, aesthetically pleasing package suitable for display of ceiling fan extension pull chains, other sorts of pull chains, and similar types of products. The disclosed invention meets these needs and others in the art through the provision of a blister pack with a transparent blister having a holding region configured to lock the chain of a pull chain in place to allow the decorative knob to hang vertically in an open area, resulting in an appearance approximating the appearance of the pull chain and knob when hung from a ceiling fan.